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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29932086">at least</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jujusanpo/pseuds/jujusanpo'>jujusanpo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the principle of the thing [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:26:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,571</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29932086</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jujusanpo/pseuds/jujusanpo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>the one where Things Are Cleared Up and kenma kozume is a photographer and kei gets angry and Other Things Happen</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the principle of the thing [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179185</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>at least</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HELLO</p><p>kenhina ???</p><p>mayhaps it will become a common occurrence. i don't know yet</p><p>HAVE THIS AND ENJOY MY LOVELY PEOPLE</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“He thinks I’m not single?”</p><p>“Yep.”</p><p>“What would possess him to believe such a thing?”</p><p>“A who apparently — Wakatoshi Ushijima.”</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“Tall, same year as Bokuto. Brown-haired. Quiet. Mysterious. Muscular. Kind of hot, now that I think about it.”</p><p>“Suga.”</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>“And you heard this from Daichi-san.”</p><p>“Daichi, yeah.”</p><p>Keiji sighs.</p><p>“Well,” he says, watches Kenma struggle with a bag of cat food, watches as Kenma continues to struggle until Hinata Shouyou comes bounding over, smiling bright as the sun, watches Kenma blush and try to hide his face as Shouyou grabs the bag and shifts it into his arms like it weighs nothing. “At least there’s that.”</p><p>Suga looks over to where Keiji watches Kenma and Shouyou.</p><p>“Yeah,” Suga says. “At least there’s that.”</p>
<hr/><p>At least there’s fucking Tadashi Yamaguchi, who serves as a Kei-Don’t-Be-Mean alarm and who also serves as a lot of other things, all of which help Kei to not be a Horrible Human Being.</p><p>Some people make it very difficult for Kei to not be a Horrible Human Being, however. The names Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou come to mind immediately whenever Kei thinks this, thinks about being a Horrible Human Being and whatever has happened in the last twenty-four odd hours to make him so.</p><p>Not that they’ve done anything in particular, just that they’re fucking <em> Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou </em> and therefore, when coming back to their house and looking extremely guilty about whatever shit they’ve gotten into now, Kei turns into a Horrible Human Being.</p><p>“Do I even want to know?” he says. He wishes to save time, because there is a movie he and Kuroo planned to watch together except Kuroo is twenty-five minutes later than the time they agreed on.</p><p>Kuroo grins, his signature Cat Grin with the left corner of his mouth slightly more up than the opposite and just the right amount of teeth showing. It’s a whole thing and it gets Kei every time which is totally Not Fair.</p><p>“Babe,” Kuroo starts.</p><p>“No,” Kei says immediately. “Your name-calling privileges have been revoked until you tell me what the fuck you two have done.”</p><p>“We didn’t do anything,” Bokuto says, whines a bit.</p><p>“Hush. This is between my boyfriend and I.”</p><p>Kuroo grins again, sits down at the kitchen table across from Kei. Bokuto leans against the doorway. Tadashi disappears.</p><p>“So ba— Kei. You know how like, when someone’s really excited for someone else to do something but they’re not sure if—”</p><p>“Is this about Kenma’s shoot? I already told him I wouldn’t do it.”</p><p>“Aha!” Bokuto exclaims. “He said he’d pay you though.”</p><p>Kei frowns. “Why?”</p><p>“Because he really wants you to do it. Also some, uh…videos. Helped.”</p><p>Kei understands immediately. “You did fucking not.”</p><p>“It was Kou’s idea,” Kuroo pipes up.</p><p>“Dude!”</p><p>“<em>You fucking</em>— I can’t believe you. Both.”</p><p>“Babe—”</p><p>“Tsukishima, to be fair, he doesn’t <em> have </em> them, he just saw them. So it’s not like he can use them in the future, y’know?”</p><p>“Thanks Bokuto. That makes me feel <em> all better</em>.”</p><p>Bokuto brightens. “You’re welcome!”</p><p>Kei groans, then turns to Kuroo and looks his stupid boyfriend right in the eyes. He’s pleased with the nervousness that appears in those stupid eyes. Stupid asshole. “I am calling a reschedule on our date,” he says, calmly as he can because <em> these fucking two</em>. “If Kenma calls me laughing tomorrow, you both will be in graves by nightfall. Tadashi?”</p><p>Tadashi appears from the room over, red in the face. Either he’s embarrassed — for Kei or just because he had to witness Whatever The Fuck just happened — or he’s been trying to hold in laughter.</p><p>“Babe, the movie,” Kuroo says, weak as he should be.</p><p>“It can wait,” Kei says, cold as he can. “If either of you try to contact me tomorrow, please know I will block you instantly. Goodnight.”</p><p>And then he walks away, out of the house, leaves those two Complete And Utter Assholes behind.</p><p>“Kei, you shouldn’t be so mean.”</p><p>“Yes, because you’ve never been blackmailed before.”</p><p>“You’re right. I haven’t.”</p><p>“Good for you.”</p><p>“Do you want pancakes?”</p><p>“<em>God</em>. Yes. I love you, Tadashi Yamaguchi.”</p><p>Tadashi laughs. “Love you too Kei. But you know you should make up with Kuroo.”</p><p>“How are you and Yachi?”</p><p>“Kei!”</p>
<hr/><p>Tadashi and Yachi are…existing. They exist. Somehow on the same planet, at the same time. Tadashi is unsure of Yachi’s human-ness, as the girl — woman, he should say, because she’s like nineteen — is an angel. Angelic. She serves him free coffee whenever he comes into the café, always remembers his order, smiles at him with that smile and Tadashi dies. Every time.</p><p>So yes. They exist, on the same planet. At the same time.</p><p>And Tadashi is in love.</p><p>“How’s photography?”</p><p>“It’s good! Kenma wants Kei to do a shoot.”</p><p>“Tsukishima doesn’t seem like the type of person to get in front of a camera.”</p><p>“He’s not. But between you and me, he was blackmailed.”</p><p>Yachi gasps. “Blackmailed?”</p><p>“Blackmailed. By his own boyfriend and the boyfriend’s best friend. Kei is pissed. He hasn’t spoken to Kuroo in, like…four days? It’s bad.”</p><p>“That sucks! Do you think we could make them make up?”</p><p>Tadashi shrugs. “Forcing Kei to do something is pretty much impossible. He likes to figure things out on his own. He’s difficult that way sometimes. He never wants my help.”</p><p>“I’m sure he wants your help sometimes.”</p><p>“Only when he’s gotten himself into a pit he can’t dig out of. I mean, at least there’s you.”</p><p>Yachi smiles. “At least there’s me?”</p><p>“To keep me sane. Without this café and you I would probably be in a hospital right now because of all the near-heart attacks Kei gives me.”</p><p>“I think he describes Kuroo and Bokuto the same way.”</p><p>“It’s a different kind of heart attack. It’s like….You know when you hear that someone is angry and so you get all nervous ’cause you don’t know what they’re gonna do next?”</p><p>“Ah.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“It’s like that.”</p><p>“It is.”</p><p>“Do you want another coffee?”</p><p>“Please.”</p><p>“I don’t know how you do it,” Yachi says, stands from the chair.</p><p>“I don’t either.”</p><p>“At least you have coffee.”</p><p>“And you,” Tadashi adds without thinking.</p><p><em> And you</em>.</p>
<hr/><p>“Did you know that dogs can get jealous when their human shows affection to something or someone else?”</p><p>“I did not, Bokuto-san. Fascinating.”</p><p>“Bokuto.”</p><p>“Bokuto.”</p><p>“I really want a dog.”</p><p>“I know, Bokuto.”</p><p>“You do?”</p><p>“Well I…I figured. You’ve been talking about the animal for the entire time we’ve been in here.”</p><p>“Oh shit—” Akaashi winces “—sorry.”</p><p>“It’s alright.”</p><p>“Right. So…I feel like we should— I mean. Okay. I. I believed that you were. Seeing someone. And I. Well. I. Just—”</p><p>“Bokuto please speak normally.”</p><p>“R-Right. I had reason to believe that you were…dating. Someone. It’s not true. Tsukishima told me. I just….I wanted to clear that. Up.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Wakatoshi Ushijima, right? I don’t know who he is, but Suga brought it to my attention. I was talking to my mother, actually, on the phone.”</p><p>“Back in Japan?”</p><p>“Yes. How did you know?”</p><p>Bokuto blushes. This is new. Bokuto has never blushed around Keiji before. Or maybe he has, and Keiji was too wrapped up in the fact that Bokuto Koutarou was nervous in front of Keiji in the first place….It’s a Whole Thing.</p><p>“Just, like. The honorifics, and stuff. And I’ve heard you talk about it before. About like. Missing Japan.”</p><p>“Ah.”</p><p>“So. Um. I. I can’t believe Kuroo fucking locked us in here.”</p><p>Keiji winces again, but he has to agree with Bokuto. “Apparently he is under the impression that we’ll work something out, whatever the something is.”</p><p>“Right.”</p><p>“Bokuto, is there something you want to tell me?”</p><p>“I. Don’t know. Is there something <em> you </em>want to tell me?”</p><p>Keiji sighs. “I think we both want to tell each other the same thing. Aside from the fact that this is extremely painful, for you and for me, I also do not wish to be in a locked room anymore.”</p><p>“Right. So. Um.” Bokuto takes a deep breath. “I like you, Keiji,” he says, all in a rush. “I really really like you and it kind of hurts how much I do and like wow you’re…<em>you </em> and I’m me and it’s just. It’s just wow. I’m so….Wow.”</p><p>Keiji turns his head so Bokuto won’t see him blush, though he’s sure he’s too late. “I think you know my response already.” He turns back, wrestles his self-control back to where it usually is — hardly controlled around Bokuto Koutarou, but it doesn’t matter anymore.</p><p>Bokuto beams. Glows. Whatever word is the proper use for the way Bokuto Koutarou looks right now, the way he is.</p><p>The door flies open. “FUCKING FINALLY JESUS CHRIST.”</p><p>“TETSUROU YOU FUCKING ASS—”</p><p>Keiji sighs again, looks up and sees Tsukishima Kei behind Kuroo Tetsurou giving Keiji A Look as Kuroo and Bokuto yell at each other. </p><p>Right.</p><p>At least Keiji has Tsukishima Kei.</p>
<hr/><p>At least Kei has Tadashi.</p><p>And Keiji Akaashi, now, because they’ve both gotten themselves roped into Whatever Hell Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou live in. Whatever horrible, wonderful alternate reality Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou live in, like all of the problems in the world don’t matter and it’s just them.</p><p>It’s just them.</p><p>Yeah.</p><p>At least Kei isn’t alone in their awful, beautiful made-up world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/tenjima">twitter</a>
</p><p>thank you for reading! mwah &lt;33</p></blockquote></div></div>
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